Shooting engagement sessions is always a blast. However, this one was particularly wonderful for me. You see October proved to be the busiest month of the year and while on one hand I felt like I had no time to go to Baraboo, WI and Devil's Lake to shoot this session, getting out in the fresh air and hanging out with these two was more refreshing than I would have ever imagined.
We hiked up the mountain to find the place where Phil proposed to Shey. All of us consider ourselves active and athletic and at first wouldn't admit to wanting to stop and take breaks until I broke the ice and asked to take a moment, pretending that my gear was weighing me down. We took shots on the cliffs, along the paths, on top of boulders, fallen trees, the railroad tracks and more. Here are the photos from the session that became a wonderful break within a busy time for me.
Take a Porsche, Streblow Classic Boat, a beautiful day, Yerkes Observatory, Lake Geneva and a cool couple add music and mix well to create an unforgettable Fusion session. Torye & Tom are a wonderful couple who obviously were made to be together. We started the engagement session at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay. Their package called for a Fusion Video so we shot video clips along the way. On the way from Williams Bay to Fontana, Max shot out the back of my Honda Element capturing the couple driving Tom's Porsche 911. What a sweet ride that is!
Then we met up with some friends of theirs and rode alongside them as they took their Streblow, "West End Girl" for a spin. (A Streblow is a much desired and much loved wooden boat brand.) Watching the Fusion Video is worth it just to see the pure joy and satisfaction on Torye and Tom's faces as they power by on their beautiful wood boat!
The week of October 16 was a whirlwind week. Nell and Eduardo flew in from Puerto Rico and we shot their engagement session two days before their wedding. Eduardo is self admittedly a little camera shy. However, after shooting with me for an hour he was legitimately excited for the photography for wedding day.
Now, I have been to a lot of weddings and a lot of GREAT weddings this year. But wow! This was a lot of fun. The reception had three bands and a DJ! The entertainment at the reception started out with Las Guitarras de Espana with Carlo Basile performing a wonderful Flamenco dance. One of the bands was AfriCaribe. They brought out the "Bomba Dancer" out in dozens of guests who formed a tight circle formed around the group known for their African-Puerto Rican-Caribbean flavor of music and dance. Then, after all that incredible entertainment another band appeared and rocked the house. The Robert Allen Jr. Band was so good the entire crowd insisted on having them come back for an encore. The wedding was at St. Benedicts Catholic Church in Fontana. We took a Lake Geneva Cruise Line boat to Lake Geneva Country Club on truly one of the best days of the entire year! What a day!
The hi-res versions of this wedding are located at this link. Below you will see some sample photos from their wedding day and engagement session. Comments welcome on the photos below.
Kelly & Mike were married on 10-1-10 in Lake Geneva, WI at Hawk's View Golf Club. The day started with a first look at the end of the public pier by The Riviera. Mike waited patiently looking out over Lake Geneva for Kelly to tap him on the shoulder. After the two had a few minutes together we started shooting wedding party photos with a very cool wedding party. The guys were wearing fun thigh high yellow and black socks and we had a blast with those props.
Here is the link to Kelly and Mike's photo gallery.
What an amazing bridal show! Literally hundreds of people attended the Lake Geneva Cruise Line's first annual bridal show! All my best vendor friends were there and it looked amazing! I had the honor of shooting the details for Gage Marine. Follow this link to view the images. Oh, and a couple I met got engaged that morning! I had to take a couple of quick photos of the newly engaged!
If you are looking for a recent wedding please go directly to my blog to find the link to their wedding photos.
Erin and Patrick were married at Hawk's View Golf Club in Lake Geneva, WI. They had a fun loving wedding party which led right into a rip roaring reception! Hawk's View outdid themselves with this event. From the beautiful landscape, to the stunning decorations this reception hall looked amazing and the food was to die for. Mike Early from Pro Sound made this reception a blast. He started out having the groomsmen put on matching blues brother's style sunglasses and got them all dancing following his lead. I was floored by his energy and dancing ability. Gia Bella Flowers created some wonderful bouquets and floral arrangements. All and all my second shooter Max and I thoroughly enjoyed this day and were honored to be part of Erin and Patrick's day. To view the photos from their day please follow this link: Lake Geneva wedding photography at Hawk's View Golf Club. Please note that the photos on the photo site are the favorite photos from Erin and Patrick's day. They will receive a disc set with hundreds more photos to enjoy as well as an album and hundreds of prints.
Here are some of the stand out photos from their day.
Beth and Jeremy had a beautiful wedding to match a wonderful relationship! Beth and Jeremy were made for each other. From the time we first met I realized how much these two love each other and get along fabulously. This was a whirlwind day starting with a Bang! Literally we started at Bang Salon in Chicago.
Then we moved to get ready for the wedding at St. Edwards in Chicago. This was a beautiful catholic church with a majestic balcony. Then we drove through Chicago traffic on a Friday afternoon. Jeremy did an incredible job of scouting out the best streets to get us to Community Park in Somewhere, IL. We handcuffed the happy couple for a few fun shots before shooting across the water, near the swans and over a bridge! The bridal party blew bubbles and did a great job of cooperating on a tight time schedule.
Courtney & Elmer were married at The Abbey Resort in Fontana, WI on September 4, 2010. We had an unbelievable day with blue skies and the sun (and the love these two have for each other) warmed up an otherwise cold and windy weekend. Click the link to find access to their online photo gallery. Wedding photography at the Abbey Resort in Fontana, WI.
We also had a photobooth set up and it was quite the hit with Courtney & Elmer's guests. The following link will bring you to the photobooth portraits. Photobooth, Lake Geneva, WI.
I just heard this statistic and seemed poignant for this blog:
1 in 1500 married couples who pray together daily end in divorce. The average divorce rate for first marriages in the US is almost 1 in 2. Seems like there is a lesson here. Many who read this blog are engaged to be married. I have never met a couple who didn't want to succeed in their marriage. If A + B = C, perhaps we should take the insight to heart and combine love + prayer to equal lasting marriages.
Here is a good resource for some of the stats on this topic. Divorce statistics.
Check out the latest wedding by following this link: Courtney & Elmer married at The Abbey Resort in Fontana Wisconsin.
Camille Crandall & John Reyes were married on August 22, 2010 at The Club at Strawberry Creek. in Kenosha, WI. What an incredible day for a wedding and Strawberry Creek is a beautiful location for a ceremony and reception. Camille and John are two wonderful people and we thoroughly enjoyed shooting their wedding. More images will be posted up to a week after the wedding. Please follow this link to view their images. Wedding at Strawberry Creek, Kenosha, WI.
